Pinterest Etiquette: Guest Post from Positively Splendid

2.15.2012

A Guide to Proper Pintiquette {Pinterest Tips & Tricks}

Like I'm sure many of you probably are, I am completely, totally smitten with Pinterest. I am confident that this newest online tool is going to change the very complexion of social media.

Not familiar with Pinterest? 
It is a virtual pinboard that allows you to curate, or form collections, of the ideas you find online and love. So, if you see a favorite recipe or project on one of your favorite blogs, you can add it to one of your Pinterest boards, virtually earmarking it to return to later. Making things even more fun, you can follow other people's pinboards and they can follow yours, making it a great way to share ideas. You can click over to see all of my pinboards and follow me, if you wish!
As a creative personality, I love Pinterest for the way it helps me organize and plan projects. Take, for instance, George's nursery. That was my first-ever Pinterest-driven project, and I cannot imagine how I ever would have been able to plan, organize and then execute all of those ideas without having Pinterest to refer back to throughout the process. As I came across ideas I loved that I thought I might want to incorporate into the nursery decor, I simply pinned them to my nursery board return to later. What an invaluable organizing tool!

As with any brand-new social media outlet, the world of Pinterest is a virtual version of the Wild West, with no standard "pinning protocol" to speak of. As time has passed and Pinterest has become more and more popular, however, I have seen a trend of a few basic rules starting to emerge that many Pinterest users strive to follow. Today I thought I would share a collection of these practices in my own little Book of Pinterest Etiquette, or "Pintiquette," if you will. These are things I've learned throughout my experience using Pinterest, and also by talking with other Pinterest users. 
These Do's and Don'ts will maximize your Pinterest experience while also helping you pay it forward to the sources behind the content you love!
Pintiquette Principle No. 1:

Do pin from the original source, when at all possible.
 This is, without a doubt, my number one recommendation for Pinterest. Repinning is admittedly quite convenient, especially when you're crunched for time. But let me tell you a story about when I realized how repinning can be less than ideal:
Remember the heart garland I used in my Valentine Mantel? I discovered that idea one day as I was be-bopping through Pinterest, and I loved it so much that I repinned it for future reference, never clicking on the link to see where it took me. Until the day I decided to make my garland, I had no idea that the link I had added to Pinterest was actually a pirated version of that project on a site based in Asia. So, by repinning the project when I wasn't sure of its source, I had inadvertently been sending traffic to dishonest people making a business of capitalizing on the content of others. Not cool! After some sleuthing, I discovered the rightful source of the project was a terrific tutorial written by Betz White for the Craft Blog. By pinning that correct link, I can ensure that Betz receives full credit for coming up with such a great idea!
If you prefer from a social standpoint to repin someone's discovery in order to give them proper credit as the source of your great find (which is, in fact, a very valid argument for the value of repinning), I would recommend to always check the legitimacy of a link before repinning. 
Pintiquette Principle No. 2:

Do link to the permalink and not the main blog URL.
If you are trying to remember a specific project from a blog to refer to later on, be sure to link to the direct link to that post, and not to the main blog URL. This will ensure that when you go back to that pin to see the idea you love, you'll be able to find the post easily without having to scroll through pages and pages of other posts on that site. 
What is the difference between a main blog URL and a direct URL? The key is to look in the address bar of your internet browser. The main blog URL contains just the basic address of the blog itself, without any other words or numbers behind it, as shown in the photo below of Positively Splendid.

The direct URL, or permalink, will have the main address for the site, followed with a forward slash and other characters that describe the specific page in question. The screen shot below shows the direct URL for my Hallway Command Center post from earlier this week.

As a general rule, you can usually be taken to the direct URL for a post on a blog by clicking on the title of the post. 
Of course, if you are wanting to bookmark an entire blog to refer back to for ideas, linking to the main URL is fine!
Pintiquette Principle No. 3:

Don't pin from a Google images search. 
Have you ever seen a great photo on Pinterest and then clicked on it to learn more, only to realize it wasn't linked to anything at all? Chances are, that photo was pinned from a Google image search. This hearkens back to #2 above: If you find an idea in Google images, be sure to click over to the original site URL before pinning it, to ensure that the pin will ultimately take you directly to the page you want to remember.
Pintiquette Principle No. 4:

Don't copy and paste the entire text of a tutorial, recipe, etc. into your pin.
Copying and pasting verbatim the directions for how to complete a project from start to finish eliminates the need to visit the original source, completely removing the owner of that idea from the equation. Pinterest is intended to be a vehicle for reaching great content, and not a one-stop-shop. A character limit needs to be placed within the pinning interface to make this a moot point.
Pintiquette Principle No. 5:

If you have a blog, do track who is pinning your content.
It's not voyeuristic at all to do this. Tracking what is being pinned from your site helps you see which content on your site is the best received, so that you can tailor your future content around the preferences of your readers. It is like having an ongoing, anonymous survey from your readers. Use it to your advantage!
Not sure how to do this? It's so simple! 
http://pinterest.com/source/YOURBLOGURLHERE/
Type that address into your browser's address bar, and you'll be taken directly to a page that shows all of the recent things that your readers have pinned from your site! The PS page looks like this:

Cool, huh?
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Additional Resources

• Not on Pinterest, but wanting to be? Send me an email at amy (at) positivelysplendid (dot) com and I'll do my best to get you an invitation!
• For a terrific video tutorial on the basic in's and out's of Pinterest, check out this post at Home Stories A to Z.
• Wanting more information about the potential impact of Pinterest on bloggers? The Nester recently wrote a fabulous article on that topic that is truly a must-read.

Did you find this post particularly helpful? Pin it to refer to later and pass along to others! Do so easily by clicking the link below.

Fontalicious

As a growing designer, self taught, I am constantly looking for new fonts that will set my designs apart from the norm. Each client has a specific look in mind they want to achieve, and it is our job as designers to interpret that and make it happen. Fonts are an excellent way to express individuality and define a product or service brand.

I have noticed in my latest efforts, I tend to mix two to three different fonts to achieve a "designer" look that makes the brand noticeable, readable and effective. You only get one chance at a first impression, constantly changing your look or branding can confuse and mystify your clientele. People want to see something aesthetically pleasing, simple and to the point that defines your brand and makes it memorable. Here are a few fonts I have found that are pleasing and communicate the feel of the product without being too fancy. Enjoy!

Body Brew by Mo. This font was introduced to me by the lovely Kristie Sheets Photography, who after taking several mood photos of the boss lady with her horse and her product for her new business card, came up with a fabulous statement font. It is called "Bleeding Cowboy" and is available at dafont.com as a free download. I enjoyed mixing this font with a standard, "Georgia" on Monica's business cards to balance out the fancy scroll and stylized letters. Picking a standard font may seem " {yawn} boring to most, but it will come in handy when ordering rack cards, business cards, portfolio folders and stickers through companies that only offer the standards. This way you can avoid the upload fee and utilize the design applications at that given time.

 Here is the link to her facebook page, she makes an all natural body scrub that will blow your mind! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Body-Brew/133804936631125